The romantic Lebanese artist Fadel Shaker and the young Iraqi artist Shatha were scheduled to perform in Dubai last week at the Al Bostan Rotana Hotel, but instead Shaker performed on his own.

According to the London daily Elaph, Shatha was not granted permission to sing, although the tickets that were sold prior to the concert included her musical group on the venue. The VIP tickets for the event reached 2500 Emirati Dirham.

Shatha was supposed to go up on stage at 10pm and Shaker at midnight. Shaker arrived in Dubai at 10 pm from Kuwait and rushed to the performance. He also faced troubles with the sound system.

Special guests at the concert included Syrian actress Jomanah Murad, accompanied by Arab fashion designer Hamoudeh Kafarneh and the Syrian actor Mustafa Al Khani, known as “Al Nimis” in the Syrian drama series “Bab Al Harah” (Neighborhood Gate).

Members of the audience came and stood around the guests to photograph them for over an hour, making concert organizers uneasy.

Shaker welcomed celebrities that were present, like Syrian actor Abed Fahed and his wife broadcaster Zainah Yazaji, but he failed to mention Jomanah Murad and Mustafa Al Khani who were sitting at the first table right in front of him.